Washington Redskins hosted Seattle Seahawks in the final game of wildcard weekend, with both sides on great form heading into it.
The first quarter went emphatically Washington's way with two early touchdowns sending them to a 14-0 lead.
Seahawks rallied and managed 13 points before the half to set up a close second half.
It was Seahawks who continued their improvement, eventually completing the comeback with a fourth-quarter TD and two-point conversion. A field goal extended their lead and they move on to face Atlanta Falcons in the divisional playoffs.
Read below how the action unfolded with Sports Mole.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the fourth wildcard playoff game.
Already this weekend the Houston Texans have defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 19-13 and the Green Bay Packers eased past the Minnesota Vikings.
Currently, the Baltimore Ravens are just about to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, by a 24-9 margin.
Back to our game, and we have a difficult one to call this evening. It really is the battle of the rookie quarterbacks.
In terms of the ability of the two, I feel Robert Griffin III just has the edge over Russell Wilson, although both have been sensational in their debut seasons.
In terms of stats between the two there is not a lot in it. RG3 has 258 completions from 393 attempts, with 3200 yards and 20 TD throws.
His counterpart, Wilson, has just six fewer completions from the exact same amount of attempts. He has 3118 yards but leads in the TD column with 26.
A look at the inactives now, for both sides.
Seahawks inactives: WR Deon Butler, OL Mike Person, G Rishaw Johnson, DT Jaye Howard, LB Allen Bradford, S Winston Guy, S DeShawn Shead. There are no real standouts on the list, except John Moffitt is fit to play.
Redskins inactives: QB Rex Grossman, WR Brandon Banks, WR Dezman Briscoe, OT Tom Compton, G Adam Gettis, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, LB Vic So'oto
Skins will be boosted that Kory Lichtensteiger is active, as he missed all practices in the week.
The teams are coming out, time for the call.
Focus is on RG3's knee, on which he picked up an injury. Will he be as effective with his rushing game? If not, Seahawks have a big advantage.
We're off! The winner of tonight's game will move on to play the Atlanta Falcons. A muddy surface greets the kick. Niles Paul for the Skins catches and returns to the 28.
Alfred Morris gains eight with another textbook running play from Washington. Big night for Morris. Timeout taken by Redskins on 2nd & 2 - they were out of time on the clock.
RG3 throws on second down and Pierre Garcon makes nine for first down.
Morris bursts through the right side and gains nine this time. Powerful from the running back. Griffin takes it on himself to gain three for a fresh set of downs.
Griffin goes long left to Garcon who catches it and takes it to inside the 25. Huge play for Redskins and a solid start.
Morris takes the ball again and this time gains nearly 20 on the rush. Fantastic blocking there from Paul.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS! (Royster)
Morris goes left for the first time, and for the first time is dropped for a loss. 2nd & 11 now. Joshua Morgan takes a catch in the endzone but it's given incomplete! This time he throws through a packed endzone to Royster and it's a TD! The kick is good, Skins lead: Seahawks 0-7 Redskins.
An almost flawless first drive from the Skins, and there's no sign of any weakness so far from RG3. Over to you, Russell Wilson.
BLITZ!The return gets to the 28 to give good field position. Massive throw to the deep early on by Wilson, but it's too long and goes incomplete. Short to the right this time to Zach Miller for eight yards and on 3rd & 2 London Fletcher gets in there for an enormous 10-yard sack. Early punt for Jon Ryan.
Richard Crawford returns it to the Redskins 46 and it's just 54 yards needed in this drive for the hosts. Perfect start for them.
Griffin drops into the hole, skins two tackles and somehow manages a gain of one. Morris goes left again to collect another six yards for 3rd & 3. Garcon looks hurt here, that could be a blow. Griffin finds Moss for a 10-yard gain and a fresh set of downs.
Griffin looks for Darrel Young, but drops his throw short f the fullback. They win a five-yard penalty but Griffin throws long on second for a gain of 25!
Once more a Morris run on first down, and this time he gains four yards down the left. Then he jinks down the right to gain five for 3d & short. Nice play on third - short throw to Logan Paulsen, who piles through for an extra 10 yards.
TOUCHDOWN REDSKINS! (Paulsen)
Play action on the run and Griffin rolls right. He launches a throw which is incomplete short but he's limping back to the huddle after a trip - not good for the QB who loves to run. On 2nd & goal good D stops the run short, but the throw left to Paulsen on third down gets the Skins their second score. Kick is once more good - Seahawks 0-14 Redskins.
The Seahawks will start their second drive from the 20. Can they get good position for the second quarter?
Marshawn Lynch picks up four with a run to centre-left and Wilson is again sacked! This time Perry Riley. Fantastic effort from Miller to spin his way on the reception to gain the 12 yards needed!
END OF QUARTER 1: Seahawks 0-14 Redskins.
Lynch cannot get through a wall of blockers and the quarter ends with the Seahawks on 2nd & 10.
Fantastic run from Wilson. He storms through the middle to pick up 19. Ten more yards than they managed in the first quarter!
Lynch fights off a tackle really well and runs for nine wide on the left. Robert Turbin runs the remaining yard.
Wilson goes long to the right to Sidney Rice. It's called incomplete but his feet were down and the decision is overturned. Good start to the quarter.
A run gains three on the play, and on second down Wilson bides his time and throws to the endzone but it's palmed down - could have been intercepted there! On 3rd & 7 there's a five-yard penalty for the play clock running out, so 3rd & 12. Wilson calls a timeout.
Wilson throws way too long on third down and they'll have to go for the field goal.
FIELD GOAL SEAHAWKS! It's good and they get three back, but it could have been so much more after the bright start to the drive. Seahawks 3-14 Redskins
Paul returns to about the 24 after being clattered with a hit.
Morris again acts as a demolition ball to pile through for a gain of seven. He goes again and gets just the one yard this time to leave Skins needing two yards on second. Griffin is rushed and the throw to Paulsen is too short. They'll need to punt.
Michael Robinson calls a fair catch on the 38-yard punt and Seattle will start again from their 27.
Lynch makes two runs to gain a new set of downs for Seahawks.
Five-yard defensive penalty gives Seahawks an advantage, which they nearly blow! The ball pops out of Wilson's hands after a play action and Lynch somehow gets it back to run for a gain of 18.
Turbin runs for one and on 2nd & 9 Wilson finds Robinson in fair acres of space, who takes it home for the yards and then some.
Wilson this time charges himself for 12 yards to set up 1st & goal on the five. Surely a TD here?
TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS! (Robinson)
Lynch rushes through the middle and is stopped at the line; no gain. Robinson is once more left wide open down the left and Wilson finds him and the ball is carried over the line for a TD! The kick is just good and Seahawks are back within four points. Seahawks 10-14 Redskins.
INTERCEPTION! (Thomas)
Wilson throws deep middle straight up but Rice is just unable to haul it in. He should have held that. Wilson runs himself to gain five and is blitzed on 3rd & 5 but finds Doug Baldwin on the line.
Baldwin is left wide open through the middle and Wilson finds him for a 33 yard completion at the two-minute warning. They could well score again before the break.
Lynch bursts through a couple of tackles for five yards and gets through for the remaining yards with a neat spin at the line.
Wilson looks for Anthony McCoy in space, but he can't catch it. On 2nd & 10 Lynch looks for the line with a run, gaining three and he doesn't get out of bounds so they call a timeout.
Wilson finds Golden Tate, but gains just five on the play. The clock runs down to four seconds and they'll go for the field goal. Ryan comes on to kick having never made a field goal in his career. No, it's to be the limping Hauschka I think.
FIELD GOAL SEAHAWKS! Hauschka manages it and there's a single point at the half.
HALF-TIME: Seahawks 13-14 Redskins
Well, the one point game is a surprise considering the first quarter, in which the Redskins were completely dominant and Seahawks gained just nine yards in the entire 15 minutes. The second quarter, however, was the exact opposite, with Seahawks hitting a touchdown and two field goals in response to Redkins's two early TDs.
In fact, at the half Seattle's numbers are slightly better - aside from the score, of course. They've made 12 first downs to Washington's 10, 181 yards to 140 and are even two ahead in rushing yards - 74 to 72.
The total possession is also just in Seahawks's favour with 15:38 to 14:22. There's really not a lot at all in this, but Washington were ever so slightly more clinical to take advantage of their early dominance with two TDs compared to Seattle's one.
The concerns for Washington will be RG3's clear lack of fitness. He came out flying but after a trip he was visibly limping and less effective afterwards. Wilson, on the other hand, improved as the half went on. If he can keep up the level he showed in Q2 then Seattle could well turn this around.
We're back underway here. Washington (the player) returns to just past the 30 for Seattle's next drive.
Fantastic run for Lynch down the right gains 26 yards. Good start here for the visitors.
Wilson waits, looks around and finds Turbin short for a gain of six on the throw. Turbin carries this time and gains three for 3rd & 1. Robinson piles through the middle for the short gain.
Wilson throws long left to Tate - he was marked but held on to the risky throw well.
Lynch again dominating on the ground, this time going left of centre for 15 yards, and they're just a few away from the endzone now.
FUMBLE! Lynch tackled really well right in front of the zone, making one for 2nd & goal at the one-yard line. He goes again and this time it pops out! Fletcher picks it up and it's a terrible time to fumble, but a fantastic bit of luck for the Redskins!
Apologies, it was Jenkins who picked it up and Fletcher who forced the fumble with a massive hit. He's so important to this Skins defence.
Young runs for three to start this 90+ yard drive for TD. Another couple gained on the short pass leaving 3rd & 5. Santana Moss catches well under pressure on the line and it's a first down.
Morris runs left and picks up five on first down. Morris goes middle right this time to bring up a new set, good running.
Morgan catches but there's no gain after good D from Seahawks. Alan Branch gets a big tackle on Morris, who is dropped for a loss of one. On 3rd & 11 Griffin throws but it's incomplete. They'll punt and Seahawks will start again.
Wilson finds Tate wide left and they gain eight straight up. Wilson scrambles left but cannot get back to the line and loses a yard to bring up 3rd & 3. He throws incomplete but a defensive foul for holding saves him and it's an automatic first down.
Wilson finds space and scrambles through, avoiding several tacklers and eventually picks up 28 yards!
SACK! Lynch runs for one, his first carry since the fumble. Wilson goes for the endzone on second, but throws long, and gets blitzed on third and is sacked for a loss of nine out of field goal range. So it will have to be a punt.
No-one took the catch on the five-yard line and Skins will start from deep in their own half.
SACK! Griffin stopped at his own two-yard line to make the task even more difficult.
The throw on second down is incomplete wide left and he goes short to Garcon for a gain of eight and a huge punt goes to beyond the 40.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Seahawks 13-14 Redskins
SACK! Wilson scrambles for five before he is sacked on 3rd & 2 and an early punt. That was Redskins's fifth sack, and they pick it up at their 22.
RG3 limps to an nine-yard scramble down the left side and Morris carries it through the middle for first down.
Griffin throws too high for Morgan on the right flank and Morris goes through for three on second to set up 3rd & long. Leonard Hankerson is free in the middle but can't reel it in, they have too punt once more after another short drive. Washington brings it out to the 21.
After the high-scoring start to this, both defences have been well on top since the half. Over four minutes into the fourth quarter and we haven't had a score since the end of the second.
Tate takes a good catch middle right and is stopped for a gain of seven. Lynch steams through the cross the 45 for an 18-yard gain and first down.
SACK! Amazingly, that's Washington's sixth sack of the game. This time Doughty bringing down Wilson for his second.
On 3rd & 10 Wilson goes short left to Miller, who reels it in very well for a 22 yard gain. Big play that.
TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS! (Lynch)
The pass on first is incomplete, and on second Lynch runs middle right for a five-yard gain. Lynch runs all the way for touchdown! They're checking he got in, but he most certainly did to me! The comeback is complete - Seahawks 19-14 Redskins before the kick.
TWO-POINT CONVERSION! Seahawks work the two-point conversion and lead by seven. That could be a vital extra point for them. Seahawks 21-14 Redskins.
SACK! Griffin is hauled down for a huge loss of 12, and it is not looking good now for Redskins.
TURNOVER! It was a risk to play RG3 and so it has been proven. He fell on the snap and Seahawks pounced on the ball to turn it over in the red zone! Worrying for the QB as his knee just buckled. That is horrific. Oh my.
He's on his feet and I don't see how. Surely he can't continue? With that injury must go Redskins's chances of progressing in the playoffs. A real shame for one of the rookie stars of the season.
Gain of one on 1st & goal on the five for Seahawks. Wilson fires into the endzone but it's right through Miller and now 3rd & goal on the four. Incomplete again, this time to Tate - looks like it'll have to be a FG attempt.
FIELD GOAL SEAHAWKS! Hauschka again kicks the point and it's a two-score game with a little over five minutes to go. Seahawks 24-14 Redskins.
Big, big ask for reserve QB Kirk Cousins now for the Skins as the return is carried out of the endzone by Paul and short of the 20.
Cousins's first pass is good for 15 yards, reeled in by Hankerson.
He goes incomplete with his next effort and on second down again goes for Hankerson who pulls it down just in bounds.
Another terrible snap but this time Cousins recovers the fumble - for a loss of four, though. Moss cannot gather the long throw to the right and it's 3rd & 14. A huge play. The blockers somehow protect Cousins from the sack and they'll try to convert 4th & 14 here.
Cousins is hit on the blitz and Seahawks have the ball back in a great position. Brilliant couple of blitzes from the visitors there.
Turbin runs for four yards, then another three before Skins take their first timeout of the half.
Not long left for Skins to save themselves in their return to the playoff fold.
Another run and Seattle end just a yard short of the line for 4th & 1. They convert with a pass to Miller and the writing is on the wall after that.
Turbin runs to gain four and Washington take their final timeout.
Two-minute warning: Lynch gains a few and this one is over, barring a miracle for the hosts.
Lynch battles back to the line of scrimmage and it's 4th & 4. Wilson's throw is incomplete. A minute for Redskins to score twice...
Cousins throws incomplete on first and Morgan drops it on second for another incompletion. Moss catches on third for a gain of five and fourth down goes incomplete. That'll end it.
FULL-TIME! Seattle Seahawks 24-14 Washington Redskins
So, Wilson's Seahawks have the final say as RG3's injury proves too much. It was a very efficient comeback from the visitors to overturn the 14-0 deficit and score 24 unanswered points. They move on to face the Falcons in the divisional playoffs.
Thanks for joining Sports Mole for the wildcard weekend, be sure to come back next week for the divisional playoffs, where the NFL really starts to heat up. Good night.
Written by
Matt Domm
Matt Domm
